Report says missing equipment costs mid-sized firms millions in operational losses

A new report from Samsara suggests equipment theft and loss is creating significant operational costs for mid-sized organizations, particularly when companies lack real-time asset tracking.

The 2026 State of Connected Operations Asset Theft & Loss Report, based on a survey of 1,500 financial executives across Canada, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany, found organizations without asset tracking lose an average of $18 million annually through direct and indirect costs associated with missing equipment.

The report found 71 per cent of organizations experience equipment theft every quarter, while 25 per cent of new equipment budgets are spent replacing stolen or lost assets.

Although heavy equipment theft often attracts the most attention, Samsara said 72 per cent of operational losses stem from missing assets valued at less than $14,000, including tools, sensors, generators and specialized parts.

Among Canadian respondents, 82 per cent said a missing critical asset caused a significant shutdown or project delay during the past year, while 39 per cent reported paying for emergency equipment rentals to keep operations running. The report also found 38 per cent of Canadian organizations without real-time asset visibility spend more than 10 hours per week searching for missing equipment.

Organizations using asset tracking reported operational benefits, with 66 per cent of Canadian respondents saying they had reduced project shutdowns and delays, while 35 per cent reported lower insurance premiums.

“Before deploying Samsara, a single missing piece of equipment could delay a job, idle a crew, and force emergency procurement—all without ever knowing where the asset actually was,” said John Chaccour, director of technology at Total Safety. “With real-time asset visibility, we expect a 100 per cent reduction in unreturned assets, 90 per cent reduction in days outstanding, and our teams spending time on safety and customer service instead of searching for tools. All told, this could add up to millions in recovered operational costs.”